England battling history as well as Mexican nation in Azteca cauldron

England will not just be fighting against the fierce passion of an entire nation when they face Mexico in the iconic Azteca Stadium for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals - they will be battling the weight of history.

The atmosphere in Mexico City was already red hot more than 24 hours before the last-16 meeting, with giant screens erected along the length of Paseo de la Reforma and car horns blaring on the historic avenue.

Only one subject is on the lips of Mexicans, and that is what will unfold in the Azteca cauldron on Sunday night (Monday 01:00 BST) when England try to halt the Mexico momentum that has left the country at fever pitch.

The game that will bring Mexico to a standstill cannot come quickly enough. Merchandise and souvenir sellers lined the streets at the Azteca on Saturday. Thunder and lightning rattled around the stadium.

It all adds to the scale of England's mammoth task against a Mexico side who have not conceded a goal in the World Cup and have lost only two competitive games out of 88 played at their spiritual home.

England arrived in Mexico on Friday evening and have had little time to adjust to what will confront them at the Azteca, which stands 7,220ft above sea level. They will face alien conditions at altitude after playing two games in the temperature-controlled luxury of Dallas and Atlanta, then in the rain of Boston and New Jersey.

If this was not enough, England are entering this hostile sporting territory knowing Mexico, and the Azteca in particular, has not been their happy place.